Partnerships
Spires Academy is proud to work with a variety of different partners from education and beyond. Our Headteacher is a committee member of ‘The Schools Together Group’ a national organisation that encourages partnerships between state and independent schools. She is regularly asked to speak at conferences and events around the country.
Our key partnerships at the current time are:
E21C Trust
We are proud to be a member of the Education for the 21st Century Multi Academy Trust and enjoy working collaboratively with our family of schools.
East Kent Schools Together
East Kent presents a diversity of economic, social and education backgrounds for school children. When pupils and staff collaborate across schools, by sharing resources and exchanging experiences, there can be huge mutual benefits, especially for disadvantaged children. East Kent Schools Together is an innovative independent-state school partnership, in which each school contributes and draws from the partnership on an equal footing for the benefit of all. The inclusion of a university as a partner opens exciting and innovative educational opportunities for the schools involved.
The aims of East Kent Schools Together:
1. Raising aspirations: Pupils’ achievements and prospects are improved when schools collaborate. We are looking to enrich teaching and learning by forging strong relationships and sharing professional practice amongst colleagues.
2. Widening horizons: Pupils have a broader experience by collaborating with children from different backgrounds and experiencing an enriched education beyond the curriculum. The partnership aims to help children become resilient learners, feeling confident relating to a wide spectrum of people in a variety of situations.
How do we achieve these aims?
We have a busy programme of activities in place with two main objectives:
Enriching teacher professional development in order to strengthen teaching and learning in all our schools. Examples include: TeachMeets and cluster group meetings to share good practice and widen networks, two-way placement swaps for trainee teachers, shared professional development.
Developing pupil confidence and well-being by bringing children together for shared experiences: cultural, sporting, academic and volunteering. Examples include: training for leadership together to work in the community, older pupils leading younger pupils in debating, running partnership magazines, collaborating for sporting events and raising money for charity.